NFWF Announces $53 Million in Grants to Enhance California’s Forest and Watershed Resilience

Press release from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation:

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced $53 million in grants to protect and restore forests and watersheds in California using voluntary, targeted headwater resilience planning and monitoring. The grants leverage $31.4 million in matching contributions, for a total conservation impact of $84.4 million.

The awards were made possible by a first-of-its-kind agreement between the USDA Forest Service and NFWF. This effort pools multiple funding sources from public and private organizations to meet the level needed for effective landscape-scale projects to tackle California’s wildfire crisis.

“Our partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation helps us mutually support communities throughout California. Combining our resources, we can use the best available science and monitoring to protect our vital watersheds,” said Jennifer Eberlien, regional forester for the Pacific Southwest Region. “These investments help ensure future generations have healthy, productive forests and help the region combat the effects of climate change.”

In the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and in the Trinity Forest Health & Fire Resilient Rural Communities landscape, the Watershed Research and Training Center was awarded $9 million from NFWF with matching funds totaling a conservation impact of $19.5 million.

The Upper Trinity River Partnership Project will accelerate planning and implementation on fuel reduction projects in the headwaters to the Trinity River. The Lower Trinity Landscape Resilience Project will restore resilient forest structure, hydrologic, and habitat conditions from Junction City to just above Hoopa along the Trinity River Corridor. The project will support planning efforts of the Big Ranch project and fire restoration in the 2021 Knob and Monument Fire footprints. This funding will support the management of resilient and healthy forest landscapes surrounding rural communities.

Launched in 2018, the California Forests and Watersheds program supports the improvement, protection and rehabilitation of ecosystems and watersheds within the National Forest System lands impacted by fire-scarred watersheds and funds meadow restoration throughout the Sierra Nevada meadows range.

Visit the California Forests and Watersheds program webpage for a list of the 2024 grants.